Qatar World Cup: Germany coach reacts to FIFA's ban on players wearing a 'OneLove' armband

Germanycoach Hansi Flick expressed his disappointment with FIFA's decision to ban players from wearing a "OneLove" armband at the World Cup. Speaking to media on Tuesday (November 22), the day beforeGermanytake on Japan, Flick said his team had wanted to make the statement to promote LGBT rights, but FIFA's short-notice decision to ban the armbands before England took on Iran on Monday (November 21) meant there was no time to coordinate with the other countries.

Thefederations of England, Wales, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland,Germanyand Denmark had said on Monday they had been put under pressure by FIFA, who had threatened to issue yellow cards to any player wearing the multi-coloured armband. "The team is very unhappy and shocked that something like this is not allowed because it is just a sign for human rights and diversity and they are also the values that we as a team live and represent."Flick told a news conference.

Germanymidfielder Joshua Kimmich said while players had nothing to do with awarding the tournament to Qatar 12 years ago, he would still like to be able to enjoy the competition. The DFB earlier told Reuters it was now checking all its options following FIFA's decision.

It is to be noted that Germany’s football federation plans legal steps against FIFAover its banning of OneLove rainbow armbands as it faced the humiliating decision by one of the country’s largest supermarket chains to cut its commercial ties over the issue. Moreover, the soccer federations who had planned to don the 'OneLove'armbands have faced "extreme blackmail" which eventually led to them not going ahead with the gesture, the German Football Association (DFB) claimed.